Home
by TheMarauderBandit
Summary: When Ziva wakes up with a cold on a December morning, she would've never guessed it would result in this. Rated T for mild language in later chapters.
1. Sirens

_Okay, so I know I should probably stop torturing poor Ziva and I should probably get working on other stories, but I've had this story floating around in my head for a while, and you know me, I _have_ to write constantly. And my muse (I've now offically named him Andrew) made me. So I wrote it. And I'm quite proud. And after this, I'm off to go watch some more NCIS (I've already made it to Season 6). I'm actually kind of depressed because school starts on Tuesday, which means this is my last day on staying up all night write for a while :/ So don't expect any regualar updates for _any_ of my stories. Oh yeah, speaking of which, this might be a two-three chapter story. Maybe. I don't really know where to take it, and if you have any suggestions, feel free to message me. Anyways, buon divertimento!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize_

_Characters are slightly AU_

_Good night!_

_~Very Special Agent Bandit 3_

_(P.S. Slight Tiva _was_ intended in this chapter, but don't count on it being a usual thing)_

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><p>Home<p>

Chapter 1

Ziva awoke with a terrifying start, her eyes darting frantically around the dark room, her breathing shallow. She placed a hand on her burning forehead, wiping off the layer of sweat, before rolling over to her bedside table, checking the clock. It was nearly seven in the morning. She should be getting up soon. She placed a shaking white hand on the thermometer that sat next to the shining alarm clock. She quickly stuck in her mouth, looking up at the white ceiling of her bedroom. She groaned as the thermometer beeped, the annoying noise seeping into her head and worsening her everlasting headache. She gave a small huff at the numbers. She still had a fever. The ninja was painfully aware of her aches and sharp pains shooting up her arms, the tale-tell sign that she did have the flu. She placed her cold hands on her burning face and let out a small sigh of relief.

She lay on her bed for a moment, before slowly, and painfully, swinging her legs over the edge of her comfy bed, and sitting up. She scratched her head, sneezed into a tissue, and shivered as she eyed her window, which had the curtains pulled over it. She'd called in sick yesterday, and the day before that. Tony had checked in on her almost instantly, and Ziva, quite horrified at his worry, had ushered him out of her house and back to work, insisting that she was fine. Ducky had called in on her two times a day to make sure she was eating and that her symptoms hadn't gotten worse, and Abby called her every morning to make sure she wasn't dying of some rare disease or something like that. Other than that, she hadn't had any contact with the outside world since she'd first woken up on Wednesday. She was fine that way.

The agent knew she would be maliciously bombarded with questions, or in other words, killed, as soon as she stepped in the doors of the NCIS building. It'd been only two days. And today was a Friday. She figured she could go into NCIS today. She would convince Gibbs she would only do desk work, which she absolutely hated, and see Ducky regularly. She could even stay down in Abby's lab. Gibbs would know for sure that Abby would take care of Ziva. Ziva knew she was in no condition to get out of bed, or much less go to work as an agent, but she didn't feel like being alone for another day. She hadn't noticed how much she missed NCIS life. She got up, sneezing once again, this time all over the wall. She gave a groan of disgust, before turning to the window and pulling the shades open. She winced at the sudden white light that filled her room, and almost blinded her. She blinked a few times, an action that didn't help her bongo-drums-headache, and peered out the window. She looked down at the street below, where cars were honking in the usual morning traffic jam, and business men were strolling casually down the street, some with a bag of donuts and fresh cup of coffee in their mitten-covered hands. It was then that Ziva noticed the blanket of snow covering the sidewalk, and the flaky white stuff falling from the cloud-covered sky.

She sighed again, and turned on her heel, walking as fast as the feverish agent could to her door. She paused, giving a huge yawn, which resulted in a small cough, and turned the cool handle with her pale hands. She stepped out in the hallway, shuffling to the kitchen. She was desperate to get to the coffee machine before she fainted of exhaustion, a trait that the flu constantly gave her. She sat on the couch as she drank the hot stuff, curled up in a ball. She rested her head against the back of the sofa, enjoying the comfortable cushion, before reaching out to the side table in front of her. She grabbed a bottle of Tylenol, using the coffee to down a couple of pills. She looked across the room to the clock that sat on the far wall, ticking silently. It was then that Ziva decided she would actually go to work.

She stood in her bathroom, leaning her elbows against the counter, studying her appearance. It certainly looked like the flu, though nothing more serious. It was obvious she'd had a restless sleep last night, and that she did have a fever. Even touching her own arm made her recoil at the warmth. Of course, her hands felt unusually cool. She splashed water on her face, trying to waken herself up, the coffee not yet having taken its effect on the fatigue that swept through her. She brushed her hair calmly, getting herself somewhat presentable. At least now there were some color in her cheeks.

Ziva dressed herself warmly, prepared to go out into the icy wind. Perhaps it would be a good idea to get a ride from another team member. No, they'd refuse and insist he'd go to bed. She'd have to do this on her own. She gave another shuttering cough, and cursed silently, snatching a water bottle from the counter in her kitchen. She took a sip, and pocketed it. She hadn't felt this horrible since, well, she was a child in Israel. She'd been five.

_"Daddy, I feel cold," the little girl was lying on the floor, shivering, something that was very odd, considering they'd lived in a desert. "I don't feel good, Daddy."_

_He hadn't replied. She watched from her spot on the floor as she stiffened where he stood, and turned on the spot, so he was facing her. He'd leaned down, looking her in the eyes, and gently placed a thread-bare jacket onto of the sick girl, something that Ziva considered a serious act of kindness._

_"Rest up," he said as he stood, "You're going to need your strength later."_

_Ziva had wrapped the jacket tighter around her, "Thank you, Daddy."_

_"Shalom, Ziva."_

_"Shalom," her voice had shook as she watched him leave her in the middle of her room._

Ziva shook herself from her thoughts, pulled on yet another jacket, made sure she had her keys, and headed out of her apartment, locking the door behind her, and heading down the icy steps.

**NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS**

Tony strode into the bullpen, a swimsuit model magazine in his hands. He was nodding his head to some odd song that was on his new iPod. "Oh, Latasha," he muttered with a childish grin on his face as he slid into his desk chair. He quickly pulled the ear buds out of his ears. He scanned the bullpen. Something was off.

"McProbie!" he barked as he quietly stashed the magazine in one of his many desk drawers. The younger agent looked up warily at Tony.

"Yes, Tony?" McGee was already typing away on his computer, despite the fact work started in fifteen minutes.

"Where is our majestic Mossad ninja?" Tony squinted his eyes as he stood rather suddenly from his desk, stalking towards Ziva's desk, obviously looking for something that would make her tardy.

"She's probably sick…again," McGee rolled his eyes as Tony stopped abruptly in his snooping. "She told Gibbs she most likely wouldn't be coming back until sometime next week."

"Oh," Tony sat rather heavily into his desk chair, "Yeah."

There was a slight awkward pause as Tony once again scanned the desks, "And where is our favorite silver-haired-fox/ boss man?" McGee looked up at Tony with a "I can't believe you just said that" look. Tony grimaced, "He's behind me isn't he?"

Tony put his fists in front of his face, as if trying to protect it."No," McGee replied calmly. Tony, however, flinched, as if Gibbs had hit him with a head slap. He paused shot McGee a sideways look.

"You sure?" Tony muttered, obviously still expecting the head slap. McGee nodded with a raised eyebrow.

Tony wrenched around in his seat, checking behind him to just to make sure, "Good. The last thing I need today is a headache. Oh shut up, McGoo."

The agent was sitting in his chair, trying to conceal chuckles as he watched Tony look around curiously once again.

"It's oddly quiet. I don't like it," Tony turned on his monitor, "By now, Ziva would've commented on something I did or did not do last night, and gave a full rant of how horrible of drivers us Americans are."

He leaned back casually in his chair and waited for the computer to start up.

"You miss her, don't you?" McGee glanced at the senior field agent.

"I do not!" Tony shot up in his chair, "I'm actually quick liking the peace around here. It's actually quiet."

"Not quite so quiet," Gibbs strode into the bullpen, a steaming cup of coffee in his hands. Both McGee and Tony instantly reached down towards their bags, looking up at Gibbs expectantly. "What?" he demanded.

"You don't have a case for us?" Tony ventured, releasing his grip on the strap of the bag.

"No," Gibbs sat down in his chair, and began to drink the coffee.

"Well, it just seems the kind of day that we'd have a case, and…" McGee stopped short at the look Gibbs gave him.

Tony leaned back. "No cases. I'm kind of glad I don't have to go out in the weather," he shuddered at the thought.

"I swear Antarctica is warmer than D.C. right now," McGee agreed, returning to his computer.

Gibbs gave a sigh, and was just about to stand up, when something raced into the bullpen.

"Gibbs!" the three of them turned, to see a panting Abby, who was leaning over, her hands on her knees. "Gibbs! Something's wrong!"

**NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS**

Ziva saw something out of the corner of her eye as she drove at her regular speed. Her eyes flicked up at the traffic light, making sure it was indeed green. Her eyes darted back to the large black thing hurtling towards her. She slammed on her brakes, trying to avoid what was bond to come, but instead found herself spinning out of control. She cursed silently, and ground her teeth. This was not going to be fun.

**NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS**

"Sit down, Abs," Tony offered her his chair as she rambled incomprehensibly. "Explain to us what's happening. Slowly."

"So Ziva's been sick and I just called her and she didn't pick up and I'm really worried I tried doing everything I could-," Tony stopped her, a grimace on his face.

"I said slowly, Abs," he reminded her.

"I call Ziva in the morning to make sure she's okay. She didn't pick up her phone. I called her cell phone, I facebooked her and everything," Abby met each of the three's eyes.

"Relax, Abs," McGee chuckled, placing a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure she's just asleep."

"She's always awake by now!" Abby protested, "She even has the home phone right next to her bed, so it would wake her up."

"Well, she does have the flu. That tends to make a person more sleepy," Tony argued, watching the Goth warily.

"It's not normal. Even when she's sick she wakes up early," Abby paused and looked at Gibbs, "I'm really really worried. It's not normal."

"DiNozzo," Gibbs turned to the senior field agent, "Call Ziva. See if you can get a hold of her."

"Got it, Boss," Tony strode to his desk and instantly picked up his phone.

"Will she be okay?" Abby stood and looked him in the eye.

"Even if ten thousand people were attacking her at once, and she had a cold, and she was injured, she'd be okay," Gibbs tried his best to reassure her.

"No answer, Boss. And her cell phone went straight to voicemail," Tony arrived from his desk. "Should I go to her apartment and look for her or-."

"No," Gibbs sat back down in his desk, giving McGee and Tony a look that clearly said they should do the same. "I'm sure she'll be fine," he quickly waved his hand, indicating that Abby should leave.

"But," Tony looked at his boss from behind his computer screen. "Rule number three: Never be unreachable."

"She's not unreachable," Gibbs persisted, shooting a look at Tony, but he didn't waver.

"But Boss-," he was interrupted by the phone on Gibbs' desk ringing.

Gibbs gave Tony another look before picking it up. "Yeah, Gibbs," there was a long pause, "Yeah, we'll be right there," Tony looked at him expectantly, "Gear up. We have a dead sailor."

Tony's face fell. "What about Ziva?"

Gibbs turned on him as the three entered the elevator. "Oh, she'll turn up."

Tony gave a soft growl, before finally leaning back against the elevator wall.

**NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS**

"I swear this isn't right, McGoo," Tony couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of his stomach as he and McGee bagged evidence.

"Mmhmm," McGee shifted away so he could collect other evidence.

"I'm not kidding, McGeek, this is for real," Tony stood and squinted at him.

"Like that one time you were dying on the Chimera?" McGee raised an eyebrow at the older agent, a smirk on his face.

"That's not funny," Tony looked away, "But I'm not kidding this time. This isn't right. We should be checking for Ziva."

"You just want her back," McGee knelt down again and continued his work.

"I do not," Tony knelt down as well, "She's my partner, it's natural I care about whether she's safe or not."

"It's not like we're talking about you, Tony. She can take care of herself," McGee rolled his eyes.

"That's not funny either," Tony sighed, and ran a glove-covered hand through his hair, his breaths coming out in small puffs of mist. "It's unnaturally cold out here."

"I know," McGee shivered, rubbing his arms in a feeble attempt at warming himself, "I just want winter to get over with."

Tony paused, trying to think up some witty comment to say, but snapped his mouth shut, snapping the gloved off his hands and rubbing them together.

"I'm telling you," he said once again, "This isn't right. Not only is Ziva missing, but Gibbs isn't worried."

"Oh he's worried," McGee chuckled, looking up at Tony.

"How can you tell?" Tony snorted in reply, scanning the crime scene. His eyes fell on Gibbs, who was interviewing the current suspect, Paisley Jones, who was the one who called NCIS.

McGee chuckled again, "When is Gibbs not worried about a member of his team?"

Tony squinted again, looking up at the cloud-covered sky as it started to snow.

**NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS**

Ziva snapped her eyes open, and the first thing she was greeted with was darkness. And an uncanny cold sweeping through her that wasn't the flu. She gave a small cough, and was shocked at the sudden taste of metal in her mouth. Blood. She tried to exhale, her lungs constricting at the idea, as she struggled to remember where she was and what had happened. She noticed a seat belt digging into her shoulder, and she grimaced as she reached down to unbuckle it.

It was then that she finally remembered. She groaned, closing her eyes in exasperation, before snapping them open in fear of falling back to sleep. She gave a small yelp as she sat up. She recoiled, sitting back down in her chair, painfully aware of an odd dizzy feeling forming in her head. She tried to take a deep breath once more, and sat up, this time ignoring the pain shooting through her sides. She had to run.

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><p><strong>AN: *Laughs insanely* I think I shall write a very happy fic next, after I'm done with this and Attention of course. I really am starting to feel bad. Anyways, please review, it keeps me writing and such :)**

**I really don't have a preview, haha, sorry!**

**Love you guys!**


	2. Welcome

_Hey guys... Oh my gophers, I am _SO_ sorry for not updating. I did say that because of school this was going to be hard to work on... right? I hope I did... well anyways I've actually had this finished for awhile, I was just fixing it up in document manager, and it deleted, so I got really mad, and ignored it for a while... haha, sorry :P Anyways, I understand it's no where near Christmas... sorry... I just honestly love when story ideas like these pop into my head... Buon divertimento!_

_Disclaimer: You know the drill, if I owned NCIS... well... _

_Characters are slightly AU_

_~Very Special Agent Bandit_

_(Haha, I forgot to mention... there _is_ some Tiva in here... like bunches... so beware... I guess)_

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><p>Home<p>

Chapter 2

"So, let me get this straight," Tony rubbed his cold hands together as he plopped down into the desk chair, dropping his bag carelessly on the floor, "The killer took a belt, slipped it over Petty Officer Glover's head, pulled him across the barn into the wall, hitting Glover's head on the pole so he was unconscious, then threw him to the ground and stabbed him repeatedly with an ice pick," he paused and exchanged glances with McGee, "It sounds like the most reasonable explanation for the evidence."

"Yeah, but you left out the thousands of tacks on the floor," McGee sat down as well and pulled his jacket off.

"That is a good point," Tony leaned back, massaging his head, "Let's say that he was thrown onto the tacks and _then_ stabbed repeatedly with an ice pick."

"It's an odd case," McGee shook his head as he pulled up a file on the only suspect, Paisley Jones. "I wonder if she knew him."

Tony squinted at the picture of the twenty-three-year-old, "What else would she be doing at his house at the time of the murder? She was probably dating him or something."

"Let's see," McGee strode back to the computer, "You know, it is a possibility she murdered him."

"Then what would she be doing calling us if she murdered him? She's familiar with NCIS, she most likely knows that we'd figure it out sooner or later," Tony continued to examine the brown-haired, green-eyed girl, as if trying to figure out if she killed him or not.

"I don't know," McGee shrugged, "You of all people would know how odd people are—Ah! It says here they were high school sweethearts, but she broke up with him when he was caught cheating on her."

"That gives her motive," Tony scratched his chin in a thoughtful way.

"I wasn't finished," McGee snapped, "It also says that she attempted to commit suicide two years ago."

"We have some missing puzzle pieces," Tony sat down on his desk, and started to type as fast as he could, looking for further news about the suicide attempt.

"You're not still thinking about Ziva, are you?" McGee shifted in his seat, so he could type and look at Tony at the same time.

"No, are you?" Tony replied almost automatically, his eyes not leaving the computer screen.

"Well she hasn't called in sick yet," McGee bit his lip, "It just seems odd. Weren't you all worried about her earlier?"

"Yes, well being her partner I have the right to be worried. Also, being her partner, I am perfectly aware she can take good care of herself," Tony snapped, finally meeting McGee's eyes.

"That was a sudden change of thought."

"She _did_ tell Gibbs she was probably going to be sick for the rest of the week, McGeek," Tony looked back at the computer.

"You didn't even know she told Gibbs that until earlier that morning," McGee looked at him suspiciously, ceasing his typing, "You aren't thinking of going to see her later?"

"Of course not," Tony sniffed, and quickly set down his jacket, which he'd just picked up.

**NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS**

Ziva quietly crawled through the car to only door she could find that wasn't totally crushed, restraining a groan as pain shoot through her. She slipped through the opening, and crouched behind the car. She didn't want them to find her. The flashing lights and loud noises rang through her head. She snuck behind her car, giving a resolute sigh at the large dents in it. It was even flipped up side down. Time for a new one. She raced across the only open area, hiding behind the ambulance now, casually avoiding the medics. She turned, finally facing a full street of cars. She felt herself slip on the ice under her feet, and she desperately grabbed at something to help keep her up.

She hit the ground with a small yelp. She massaged her now sprained ankle, prodding it to make sure it was okay, before standing up, with much difficulty, and looking in the distance. She could make it to the NCIS building on foot. Sure, almost every nerve in her body was filled with a sharp, shooting pain, and she definitely had some broken bones, but she could almost see the building in the distance, she knew where she was, and she'd had far worse injuries before. She groaned once more as she moved to start off. She whipped around as she heard people behind her, and turned on her heel, sprinting off as fast as she could while limping towards NCIS.

**NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS**

"We figure she did it, considering she was at the crime scene, and he cheated on her," Tony finished his report. Gibbs nodded.

"What about the tacks?" Tony groaned as his Boss' response.

"Well, there are two options. Either he fell onto them as he was pushed to the ground by the killer, or the killer used them to torture him, maybe to get him to share information," McGee reasoned, looking at this boss.

"There are better ways to torture people, McGee," Gibbs turned around to grab his coffee cup.

"What about the 'he-fell-on-it' option, Boss?" Tony turned towards him, his arms crossed.

"Well, it matches what Ducky found on the body," Gibbs replied in a listless voice as he turned on his own computer, "There were little marks on his back. Not big enough to make him bleed, but it would've caused him a lot of pain. Go get the girl," he pointed to the screen. "See what she has to tell us."

"Got it Boss," McGee and Tony chimed. Tony was just about to get up from his seat, when the elevator chimed.

Tony snapped his head up as the doors opened loudly, and nearly jumped out of his skin at what he saw. He stood slowly as Ziva approached the bullpen slowly, her skin as pale as wax, unhealthy looking cuts littering her face, blood resting on her lips, and what appeared to be many broken bones. His eyes widened as her eyelids drooped, and her body began to shake.

Gibbs was beside her before any one can blink, dragging his chair behind him.

"Ziva, what happened?" he reached forward to place a hand on her cheek, where a particularly nasty gash was. She shied away from him, coughing harshly as she did.

"I got into a crash," she sounded out of breath, her voice hoarse and heavy. Gibbs reached forward again, and she moved away again, though this time, he continued, and finally wiped the blood from her cut.

"How'd you get here?" Tony furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at the state she was in.

Gibbs placed the back on his hand on her forehead, "I thought you had the flu," McGee added, looking just as worried as Tony felt.

"You have a fever," Gibbs replied, tenderly grabbing her upper arm as she swayed.

"I wanted to come here," she replied, releasing yet another cough, "Just to do desk work. I was so bored at home, and I was lonely. I wasn't planning on doing anything."

"It was icy on the roads," Tony still stood in the same place, "What happened?"

"I was driving through the intersection, and a black car ran the red light. I stopped, and I slid on the ice."

"He still hit you?" McGee whispered, almost terrified.

"Yes, and then I crashed in to the other side of the road, and my car flipped over," Ziva looked down, removing the blood from her lips, "If I hadn't stopped I-."

"He would've hit you straight on," Tony reassured her, "Though you didn't really think this through. Why aren't you being checked out in the hospital?"

"I didn't want the medics to worry. I am fine," she caught Gibbs' steely gaze, "Honestly, I don't feel that bad-."

She was interrupted by a raucous coughing fit, she fell into Gibbs' arms. He quickly led her to the chair he'd brought, kneeling next to her.

Once she'd stopped, she looked at Gibbs in the eye, "I am fine."

"Ziva, don't start this," Tony darted over to them from his desk and handed Gibbs a water bottle.

"I am fine, don't worry. I just want to do desk work," even as she spoke, she made to stand. Gibbs snatched her arm again and forced her back into the chair.

"Stay," he commanded as he opened the water bottle, "Drink this."

"I'm fine!" she hissed, sneezing into her hands, "I told you not to worry."

"You're not fine, Ziva," McGee was now also by her side. Gibbs shot the two agents a look, which caused both Tony and McGee to instantly scamper back to their desks.

"Just stay here," Gibbs got up, and started towards his desk.

"I'm not hurt! I feel fine," a shaking Ziva tried to stand up again, but Gibbs was back by her side again.

He gently shoved her back into the chair. She landed with a grunt as she stared at him. He leaned over her, "Either you stay here and wait quietly and without a struggle while I call Ducky, or I will carry you down to autopsy if I have to," he hissed, "No matter what you choose, you're going to have Ducky look after you."

"But I am fine, Gibbs," she said almost desperately.

He stood again, heading back towards his desk, "If you're fine you have nothing to worry about."

She sneered at him, but didn't resist any more. She took the water bottle and sipped it quietly. Even though it was water, her stomach complained. Her lungs were burning, and her sides had pain shooting through them. She groaned, and leaned back in her chair, trying to ignore the shivering as a wave of cold washed over her. She thought she saw Tony move, but she just closed her eyes, trying to get the pain to somehow stop.

**NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS**

"Ziva. Ziva, wake up."

Her eyes fluttered open as she heard her name being called. She had a layer of sweat on her skin, but she was still shivering. She wondered how she would feel if she didn't have the flu. She noticed that someone had laid their jacket on her. It smelled like Tony. She gave a snort of disgust.

"Ziva, hey," she looked over to see Tony was kneeling next to her. "Ducky's here to see you."

She gave a feeble cough, "I told you I am fine," she snapped, and looked around. She was still in the chair, laying back, and everything seemed in order. McGee was at his desk, Tony was going back to his own, and Gibbs was missing, though Ziva assumed he was with Ducky, who must have been approaching her from behind.

"You don't look fine," Tony stated bluntly, looking down at his computer as if to avoid the look Ziva shot him.

She growled, and threw his jacket off of her, "Why'd you give this to me? I already have a coat on. And you know I hate when you do stuff like that."

Tony shrugged, "You were shivering, and McProbie here was too worried about his own two million dollar jacket to give it to you."

"Hey!" McGee turned to face them both, "I was not! Tony told me not to give you my jacket. And it didn't cost two million dollars."

Tony blushed for a second, but quickly recovered himself, "Okay," he held up his hands in defeat, "I'm sorry,_ three_ million dollars."

McGee opened his mouth, but Ziva interrupted them both, "You are missing the point! _One_ of you cared and it was obviously Tony, and it does _not_ make me happy!"

"Why should you be so upset if we cared?" Tony raised an eyebrow and gave her a devious smile.

"Because I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself and I do not need you two mothering me!" she hissed impatiently, trying to cover that her sides had just started to burn again.

"The term is babying, not mothering," Tony snapped, his eyes twinkling with laughter.

"Same difference," she retorted in a mocking voice.

"And we weren't babying you. I just put a simple jacket over you because you were shivering!" Tony stood and turned in wide circles, his arms out, "Is it so hard to accept that some people can do some nice things sometimes? Is this the world we live in?"

"Sit down, you're embarrassing yourself!" Ziva hissed, watching him with wide eyes.

Tony simply chuckled and sat down, "They don't pay attention to me anymore."

Ziva gave a harsh cough, and Tony's chuckles instantly ceased. He was watching her warily, but she brushed it off, "I thought Ducky was here?"

"I am," Ziva whirled around, causing a mixture of coughing and sneezing to erupt from her.

"I would've thought you'd have said something about how 'horrible' I look by now," Ziva watched as he leaned against her desk, clearly amused.

"I was waiting for the right moment," he paused and studied her, "You do look pretty feverish," he stepped forward and tucked a hand under her chin, examining her face, "And not to mention you have cuts all over your face."

Ziva unconsciously reached up and touched her face, before looking up at him. He knelt down and gently prodded on of her sides. She winced and turned away.

"You definitely have some bruised, maybe even a couple of broken ribs, and some sort of lung damage," he then went to her left leg, where he took of her shoe and continued to examine it from the ankle to the knee, "And a dislocated kneecap. How did you manage that?"

She shrugged and winced, "I don't know."

"Let's get you to the hospital, seeing as you already haven't been," Ducky got up slowly, watching the sick ninja with interest. "What were you thinking?"

She shrugged, "I just wanted to come to work. I didn't want to worry people when I was in the crash," she took a deep breath as she cringed, "It was nothing."

Ducky helped her off the chair, and she leaned heavily on him. Ducky beckoned for Tony and McGee to come to help her, while he went and got the car ready. Tony slipped an arm around her back, and she put one over his shoulder, McGee doing the same.

"I wonder where Gibbs went?" McGee looked wildly around the bullpen as they slowly made their way towards the elevator.

"Probably to get some coffee," Ziva's voice sounded strained, as if she were in pain, and when Tony glanced at her, he noticed that her face was tinged with green, but was a new shade of pale.

Tony smirked, "Probably," Tony shifted his weight, so he was taking most of Ziva's. "McGee, I left my phone on my desk, wanna go grab it for me?"

McGee sneered, but left Ziva's side and scampered off nonetheless.

Ziva turned to Tony, both of her hands clinging to his shoulder, "What would you need your phone for? We're just going to the hospital."

"Other than answering calls? I want to take a picture of you all hooked up to wires," Tony gave a big grin.

"I won't have to be hooked up to wires," she shoved him gently. He chuckled and caught her before she fell.

"Here," McGee sneered, allowing Ziva to put her weight on him as Tony pocketed the phone.

"Onward," Tony pointed forward, and the three continued their trek to the elevator.

"This is fun," McGee paused, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"This is _going_ to be fun," Ziva corrected him as they stepped into the elevator. "I don't even know how I made it up the first time."

"You didn't think you were that injured-," Tony started, looking at her seriously.

"I'm not that injured," Ziva spat at him, an odd glint in her eye.

"So now that you know how bad you actually are, you consider yourself more hurt," Tony ignored her and continued, "It's a psychological thing. You don't know you're doing it. Or you don't mean to."

"That's reassuring," she suddenly lurched forward, and Tony tightened his grip on her arm to keep her from falling, while McGee instantly let go. Tony gently pulled her to the ground with him as she moaned, "Oh yes, this is fun."

McGee leaned down next to them both and handed her a water bottle. "Positive thoughts, Zee," Tony smiled goofily at McGee, indicating that he was enjoying this far too much to be healthy.

She turned towards Tony, a murderous glint in her eyes, "Don't ever call me '_Zee_' again, or I will kill you the most vicious way I can," she snarled fiercely.

"And what's the most vicious way you can, Zee-_vah_?" He joked, trying to keep her talking. Inside, he was just keeping her mind of the pain, and doing it in the way he did best.

"You do not want me to reveal it. I'm afraid you'll feel even sicker than I do," she smiled angelically, looking at them both.

"I'm afraid that's impossible," Tony looked away, masking his feelings.

"You're not helping me any, Tony," Ziva started, but McGee instantly shushed her.

"I'm not?" his face obviously fell, and he looked down.

"No," Ziva smiled, "You suck at making people feel better."

"Now that's one thing I don't believe, Zee-vah, I am _amazing_ at making people feel better, and if I'm not making you feel better, than you _obviously_ don't fit in the 'people' category."

She gently shoved him, and contained silent laughs, "I am not people, Tony, I am a person."

"People are person," Tony smiled at his quick wit, and looked back up.

"That makes no sense," McGee piped up.

"But doesn't it, McProbie?"

"No, Tony, it doesn't," Tony gave a snarl aimed at him as soon as the words left McGee's mouth.

"It seemed better in my mind," Tony looked down, a frown painted on his face.

"Everything seems better in your mind," Ziva breathed as she wrenched her arm from Tony's grip, and held her stomach.

"Was that meant as a compliment or an insult?" Tony helped her sit up again.

The elevator lurched to a stop and gave a sudden ding.

"What was your plan of getting me off the ground?" Ziva watched as the doors opened slowly, "I have a dislocated kneecap."

"This was my plan," Tony got to his knees, placed a hand on her back, another under her knee, and lifted her gently up. She made a hissing noise, Tony figured it was either in pain or annoyance, but whichever, he continued on his way.

"This is a retarded plan," Ziva shivered as the trio emerged into the cool, though sunlit, December morning air. Tony's feet crunched in the pure, white snow, and he scowled as he realized Ziva weighed far less than was thought healthy.

"You haven't been eating lately, have you?" Tony breathed as he made his way towards Gibbs' car.

"I have actually," Ziva sneered as she watched Tony's face with interest. He was scrunching up his nose as he struggled to support her weight, "And why do you care so much?"

"I am a curious man, Zee," he met her angered glare, "Vah, sorry, vah."

She turned her head back to look at the car they were approaching slowly, the wind whipping her dark, blood-stained, hair around.

As soon as they neared the car, Gibbs cocked an eyebrow at them.

"Drop me," Ziva hissed into Tony's ear, her eyes flashing with annoyance and embarresment.

Tony shot her a look, before grinning pricelessly, and rubbed her arm in one quick stroke of his hand before gently placing her down, barely holding on to her as he did. Once her feet touched the icy asphalt, she clung onto Tony, giving a small whimper in pain. He helped her gently into the car, and once seated comfortably in the passenger side, she turned to Tony, her beautiful brown eyes soft. She leaned forward, "Thank you, Tony."

Tony stepped away, the feeling in his gut finally gone. "You're welcome, Zee-vah."

She slammed the door without a second thought, and the engine started as quick as lightening and before Tony even knew it, they were speeding away. He watched as the three drove away, leaving McGee and him behind. He stood for a few seconds, before racing over to his car, McGee trailing him almost soundlessly. Tony tried not to let himself go numb as he started the engine. McGee slid into the passenger side of the car, and looked at Tony for a moment.

As the two started on the road, they exchanged looks.

"Am I the only one dreading telling Abby?"

Tony gave a soft chuckle, and he began to feel that everything was going to be alright. He couldn't wait to see what would happen next Christmas.

~~END~~

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><p><strong>AN: Awwwh! So sweet... and awesomely AU! ;) So yeah... please review! It makes me happy and stuff! :D Oh yeah... and I hope you liked the ending. Thank you so much! Love you guys! :)**

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><p>AthosionWarrior: Aww, I feel really bad for not updating sooner... Sorry! Thanks ;)<p>

Zivarocks44: Haha, thank you so much for complimenting my ending... :) And thanks for loving all of it

silvermoon217: Haha, thanks ;)

NYCRhythm0617: Haha XD

Zivancis: Haha thanks, if you haven't noticed I write ALOT of drama stuff :D

pirate-princess1: Haha, thanks :) Hope this is soon enough?


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